Mbappé Dismisses Paraguay, Vows France Ready to Play Dirty
France beat Paraguay 1-0 in the World Cup Round of 16, with captain Mbappé scoring and later dismissing opponents for not wanting to play football while vowing France could match their physical tactics if needed.
Kylian Mbappé, captain of the French national team, criticized Paraguay for not wanting to play football, while declaring that France is willing to play dirty football if it brings victory.
France defeated Paraguay 1-0 in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16 on July 4, with Mbappé scoring the winning goal in the 70th minute.
After the match, Mbappé lashed out at Paraguay's playing style, saying they didn't want to play football but were ready to resort to rough tactics. "Paraguay didn't want to play football, and we showed them that we know how to handle it. We won and we are superior to them," he said.
"They thought we would come in tuxedos and play pretty football, but that's not how it is. We can play dirty football too. If we need to get our hands dirty, we will. Even when playing dirty, we're still superior. They tried to outplay us, but it was us who outplayed them."
Mbappé has now scored 7 goals in this World Cup, sharing the Golden Boot with Lionel Messi, the striker for Argentina's national team.
